The Scientific Community and Government must get better at Engaging with the Public

10 February 2010

Science-based organisations and Government need to make greater efforts to engage the public with the sciences, according to a new report ‘Science for All’ published today as part of the UK Science and Society strategy commissioned by the Department of Business Innovation and Skills (BIS).

The NCCPE has been actively involved in the expert group which drafted the report.  The key findings include:

  • Public engagement is still a relatively new and emerging field, and our understanding of many aspects is only now developing. The group therefore recommends that a vital focus should be a wider understanding of why, when and how the public engages with the sciences.
  • Although there are many organisations and individuals working in this area, and much parallel activity in different sectors, the group discovered that there was a significant lack of joined-up working and sharing between those who are involved. They therefore identify a further challenge to develop supportive networks and mechanisms for increasing effective engagement.
  • Third, although there is now compelling evidence of the vital role public engagement plays in sustaining a healthy culture for science, there are still significant barriers to individuals who wish to embrace engagement because of institutional cultures which marginalise or undervalue engagement. The group therefore identify a third challenge, to work towards a professional culture that values, recognises and supports public engagement with the sciences.

Paul Manners, Director of the NCCPE, and one of the members of the expert group commented:

’Science for All’ identifies an urgent need to build on approaches developed in recent years for engaging the public with science and research in new and fresh ways. It lays out a roadmap not just for universities and research institutes, but for government, the public sector, business and other interested organisations, to commit to take action. It’s gratifying to see how strong a consensus there is around the challenges we face – and in particular the need to tackle the professional culture of science and research to ensure that public engagement is properly supported and embedded in organisational cultures.  That’s exactly why the beacons project was set up, and we’re delighted to be able to share the lessons we’ve been learning about how to achieve this kind of cultural change.

The report and action plan contains around 60 actions and proposed actions - many of which align to work already being undertaken by the NCCPE. It is hoped that societal groups will work in partnership with government, funders, employers and science communication organisations to deliver this action plan. Actions include:

  • Ensure all public funders of the sciences have mechanisms in place to support and recognise public engagement
  • All Government R&D contracts to the private sector to require delivery of an appropriate plan for public engagement
  • Develop a competency framework for public engagement, and explore how these competencies might be embedded into existing or developing professional development frameworks
  • All scientific research papers with any public interest dimension to have a plain English summary giving context and implications, for public and media consumption
  • Set up a pilot ‘public compact’, to enable concerted action on national issues by government, public sector bodies, businesses and members of the public
  • DCMS and publicly-funded cultural institutions to demonstrate commitment to recognising science as a part of our culture
  • Explore and promote the role of social media as a mechanism for engagement with the sciences

Roland Jackson, Chief Executive of the British Science Association, who chaired the expert group said:

In our report we make explicit the different purposes and reasons for public engagement and set out a detailed action plan for increasing its effectiveness

Widely shared ownership of the action plan is essential, since so many different organisations and people are involved in public engagement, for so many different reasons. We are therefore seeking to develop an open process for developing and implementing our recommended actions. We will be exploring ideas for this over coming weeks and welcome suggestions and offers to participate and contribute.

 You can download the full report and supporting documents on the BIS website.